If Phoenix Downs worked on Bones
by RubberDuckyPinwheels
Summary: It has been years since Zack died and Cloud doesn't know how much longer he can take the loneliness of never being able to confess to the man. He is ready to get Zack back by any means necessary, no matter the cost.
1. A Hero Fallen

**Title:** _If phoenix downs worked on bones_

**Author:** _TynDawn AKA RubberDuckyPinwheels_

**Rating: **

**Warning(s): **

**Pairing(s):** _Zack x Cloud_

**Disclaimer: **_I do not own Final Fantasy VII and do not make money from this story._

**Author's Notes:** _Aghhhhgwahhh, I'm so sleepy…but I have that writer's itch even though my hands feel like they're about to fall off x_X; Also, I decided that I HATED the intro to this, so it's dead now. Disregard it – Thank you._

How often had the world fallen into peril under Cloud Strife's watchful eye? The blond couldn't remember ever saying that he would take care of the world and watch it like a mother hen monitored their un-hatched egg. The world had already hatched and had been blossoming for years before his birth, why was Cloud suddenly the care-taker? Why did everyone depend upon him and him alone, even all of his friends? They all came to him with their problems, every single time and without fail.

Either way, contrary to what everyone thought, Cloud was a selfish man and on this day in particular he felt even more selfish than usual.

This day was not like every other day.

This day was special.

This day was a painful reminder of someone all too dear to the blond hero.

This day was…

Was…

"Look out, Spiky!"

Barret's voice boomed into Cloud's ears, warning him promptly and bringing him back to the importance of their situation. Cloud turned on his heels and brought his sword upward before pulling it through the great beast that was lunging at him, from it's stomach all the way to the crest of it's shoulder. The crowd around him of his close friends would have gasped if they weren't fending off their own enemies. Three large shadow like beasts with dripping jaws and crazed eyes surrounded them, their breath stinking of rotting corpses and their claws dripping in a disgusting mixture of blood and sludge.

The creatures had become divided between the group.

One to Barret, Tifa, and Cait sith.

One to Cid and Vincent.

Yuffie had gone to Wutai to visit with her family, and Red XII had gone with her, so they were not there to lend a helping hand.

So that left the last one for Cloud and only him. Not that he really need the help, right?

The beast wailed in anguish, screeching out its pain to the world as the over-sized sword was pulled back and then hoisted above it's head. Unfortunately, the creature was faster than Cloud had estimated, and before he was able to block it, a clawed arm had sliced forward through the air. He had tried to avoid it by sidestepping, but it gashed it's way through the front of his chest, leaving a long gaping wound just beneath the indentation of his collarbone, tearing fabric and flesh all together.

Pain shot up through the wound and Cloud hissed hard as he ground his jaw down in silent agony. Knitting his brows, he focused himself and stepped closer to the beast, using both hands as he thrust the sword forward and right between the monster's eyes, not minding in the least when all manner of blood spewed out and covered his hair and face. His leather-clad hands twisted the blade, causing bone and muscle to contort and snap beneath the edge of the enormous weapon.

With a ruthless howl, the beast dropped with Cloud withdrew his weapon. Unfortunately, Cloud fell as well, dropping down to one knee as his hand flew up to his chest, drawing in a hard breath as he forced the edge of his prized sword into the dried ground, trying not to collapse beside the dying creature.

"Cloud!"

The blond faintly registered the sound of Tifa's voice, worry flooding through her voice as she screamed his name in terror. The other's looked up in concern, but Vincent only fired more shots at the beast in front of him and Cid, bringing it down with only five more well-aimed shots. Barret had taken care of the last beast.

Cloud's eyes went slightly hazy as the blood-loss began to get to him, his legs shaking beneath him as his hands slipped from the base of the sword. He collapsed down to the ground, landing beside the sword and reaching one hand out, searching for someone, or for something.

It was only one gash, only one gaping wound, but the blood loss was severe, not to mention the fact that injuries affected weakened bodies more than bodies that were in top condition. Cloud's body had definitely been weakened as of late, but no one had taken the time to notice it, not until now.

Slowly but surely, Cloud's world went black. The last thing that he saw before his eyes reluctantly shut was the image of his friends running toward him with panic flashing in their eyes as they cried in unison.

"CLOUD!"

**Author's notes:** _Waaah, This is short, but yea…I wanted it to be separated right here, it was pissing me off. So short T_____T Blach…_


	2. A Change of Plans

**Title:** _If phoenix downs worked on bones_

**Author:** _TynDawn AKA RubberDuckyPinwheels_

**Rating: **_PG-13 at least for this chapter. Rating will rise._

**Warning(s): **_Violence, Language_

**Pairing(s):** _Zack x Cloud_

**Disclaimer: **_I do not own Final Fantasy VII and do not make money from this story._

**Author's Notes:** _Aghhhhgwahhh, I'm so sleepy…but I have that writer's itch even though my hands feel like they're about to fall off x_X; Also, I decided that I HATED the intro to this, so it's dead now. Disregard it – Thank you._

Caution had been taken by the others when they had been taking the fallen blond back to the Shera, their hands stained in blood from both Cloud and the creature. Cloud's form was lifeless as they pulled him into his room, laying him on the perpetual mussed and unmade bed. The room was small and simple. It contained nothing but a bed as well as the walls and floors. Funny, it suited Cloud best this way, with no customization unlike the rooms that Yuffie and Tifa had proclaimed as their own and had decorated in colors.

In the room designated as Cloud's, there was nothing on the walls and nothing upon the floors, no way to tell who inhabited it, other than when Cloud occupied it or when he left his sword or armor upon the barren landscape of the bed.

Perhaps it was only empty because Cloud still didn't know enough about himself to decorate it in a fashion that would suit him.

Yes, that had to be it. It was the only explanation.

Vincent had volunteered to take care of the blond, since the others had been too panicked to think properly or keep themselves under control. His hands ripped the front of Cloud's shirt unceremoniously and undeterred as he gazed down at the mark. The gash had been brutal, two full inches wide and deep enough to push a full knuckle into the deepest point in the trench. The crimson-eyed man had finished pulling away Cloud's shirt, so that it would not get in his way. Tifa waited at the door for instructions and any news on her friend.

"Tifa, I need a restore materia, the most powerful one that you have," He instructed quickly, "Tell Barret to bring me bandages and hot water. Hurry!"

Tifa had ran, fleeing down the hallways and yelling to Barret quickly as she sprinted back to her own room, going through her materia quickly and finding the bright emerald orb. "Please be okay, Cloud, Please be alright," She had pleaded to herself with trembling lips.

Vincent on the other hand did all that he could, using part of Cloud's shirt and pressing it into the trench that was dug into his chest. He had to stop the bleeding, somehow. Vincent's eyes flicked to Cloud's face when the blond jerked beneath him and clutched onto the dingy sheets beneath himself. It was almost a good sign that Cloud hadn't been totally knocked out, it would take a little pressure off of Vincent's mind to know that Cloud was still with them enough to sense pain.

However, what Vincent heard come from the blonde's now pale blue lips shocked him all the way down to his rather indifferent core.

"Za…Zack…"

Before Vincent had been able to question or ponder on this, Tifa and Barret and returned to the room with what Vincent had asked for. The ex-Turk took the supplies and shooed them out of the room so he could concentrate. Distraction would only continue to cloud his thoughts and proper judgment and Vincent didn't need that, especially not right now.

Even with the restore materia, certain precautions had to be taken. First, he made sure that the worst of the bleeding had stopped, Vincent then cleaned the wound before pressing the restore materia into the heavy slash in Cloud's chest. By this time, Cloud's eyes had opened; fluttering and flicking helplessly as he let out pained hisses and threw his head back, jerking under Vincent's care, coping with the pain as best as he could for now. He really should have been used to this by now, or at least one would think so.

With the cure absorbing into his chest, Cloud's muscles slowly began to fill in the wide ravine that had been freshly engraved in his pale skin. Slowly, the thread of his muscles and nerves grew back, mending themselves together as skin began to form back over it. Cloud took heavy breaths, his chest heaving as he snapped his eyes shut tight. There was nothing left but a thick scar upon Cloud's front with a line of remaining blood that Vincent then wiped off with a remaining piece of cloth from Cloud's sleeveless sweater before he then began wrapping the blonde's chest with the bandages that Barret had brought him.

"Zack?" Vincent had questioned to himself, "Is he what this is all about?"

Vincent may have been the only one to notice Cloud's strange behavior as of late. The way that the blond had seemed to be lacking even more joy and spirit than usual. Vincent couldn't have been the only one to notice, right? Perhaps he really was the only one that had managed to pick up on those subtle hints.

"…Zack…" Cloud had begun speaking again, his voice low, wistful, and sounding so far away, "…I'm…sorry, Za - ack…"

Vincent had lifted his dark brows in curiosity. Sorry? Sorry over what exactly? Yes, Vincent had heard about Zack's death, the details were foggy, but it wasn't Cloud's fault, so he shouldn't be sorry over things like that. Right? Well, Knowing Cloud, he would blame himself even if it wasn't really his fault.

With a final sigh, Vincent turned and left the room, closing the door behind himself and making his way back to the front of the air-ship where he was greeted by Tifa.

"Vincent, How is he? Will he be alright?" She asked with worry slicking her vocal cords.

She was answered with a nod, "He needs rest, I'll check on him in the morning,"

Tifa nodded stiffly and quietly returned to her room, with her departure, the front deck of the air-ship was left in an uncomfortable silence. One by one, each of them left and returned to their rooms, sleeping unsteadily as they waited for any news on Cloud to reach their ears. In the dead of night, Cid was the only one who remained awake; lingering behind the wheel of the ship with a cigarette perched between his lips as he grumbled roughly to himself.

"Damned kid,"

Only a breath's time after this was said did Cid happen to notice the sound of footsteps. With a look behind himself, the pilot confirmed that the maker of such sounds was non other than the specific blond that he'd been complaining about.

"Cloud? What're you doin' out here?" The pilot asked as the pulled the cigarette out from between his lips.

Cloud took several moments to answer as he made his way through the front of the air-ship, bare feet shuffling against the floor as he held one hand to his chest while his other hand was used against the wall to steady himself. Taking shaky breaths, he closed his eyes and continued his effort of making his way over to the pilot's seat.

"Cloud, you're gonna hurt yerself, ya dumbass," The pilot complained and turned his eyes to the front window to prevent crashing and further problems.

"Cid…" Cloud said softly before he crumpled down to his knees helplessly, closing his eyes and taking a low breath as his chest ached softly, "Midgar…we need to go to Midgar," To be more specific, they needed to go where Midgar had been, "…The cliff, we've got to go there,"

"Jus' what the hell're you talkin' 'bout?" Cid scoffed as he kept his hands on the controls.

Cloud didn't lift his head, instead, he only moved a hand to Cid's arm, "Cid…please,"

Cid narrowed his eyes and nodded his head, "Don't know what the hell yer thinking,' Cloud, but fine, if it'll get ya off my back," The Shera made an abrupt turn.

Midgar…

The cliff…

They were finally going back, after so much time.

Cloud gave a small unseen smile before his vision suddenly black out. Nothing was said as he fell to the metal deck of the Shera, that smile remaining lightly on his face as hands pulled him off of the floor in a huff of blonde-headed and smoker-breathed rage.

**Author's Notes:** _Yea, I don't know if Vincent knows anything about medical care, but hell, why not? He's an ex-Turk after all, he's probably been shot quite a few times and probably knows a little bit about injuries. Well, plah, My version of Vincent knows how to take care of people…in more ways than one ^_~ Eheee_

Why do all of my FFVII fics settle around the day that Zack died? O.o; Oh well…


End file.
